Photography is not just my
profession, it’s a labor of love and my career has taken me all over the world.
I’ve met and worked with some very talented people, been a part of movies that
you probably know, and overall had a great time.

So although I’ve now retired from
motion pictures, I still love
taking photos – which brings me to this, a Kickstarter appeal to produce the
first book of my personal photos -- and unlike any of my previous work, this has
nothing to do with actors or movies.

And this book combines two of my
lifelong loves – nature and photography.

All of the photos are of botanical
subjects.

And every photo was taken with an
iPhone.

So naturally, it’s titled,
BOTANICA iPhone photos.

My longtime friend Ray Bradbury
wrote the introduction. He had seen an early portfolio of the work and I was
sad to learn of his passing while I was working on the final edit.

WHY
AN iPHONE?

Well, it’s really simple - throughout my career, I’ve always used the
latest and greatest cameras and traveled with enough overweight equipment
cases to supply a small army, but for this project I wanted to limit
myself to a single format, a single camera, even a single lens.

I wanted the same simplicity of
my first camera from some 50+ years ago - a Brownie Hawkeye.

Which brings to mind a quote from
another old friend, Ernst Haas.

"There
is only you and your camera. The
limitations in your photography are in yourself, for
what we see is what we are."

So I chose the iPhone.

It fit all of those requirements
while at the same time offering the advantage of what Steve Jobs called
“insanely great technology”.

Instead of limiting my choices, the
iPhone allowed an entirely new range of possibilities that enabled me to take
photos that would have been otherwise impossible, and I think that when you see
the book you will have a better idea of what I mean and maybe a better
appreciation of the photos you can take without exotic cameras.

Also because it was always with
me, the iPhone was the perfect camera for this assignment.

ABOUT
THE BOOK

All of the photographs have been selected and the design and layout are now complete.

BOTANICA will be a coffee table size -11X13”-
hardcover book with 162 pages.
There are 81 photos.

There is one image per page and on
each of the facing pages is a quote relating to beauty, flowers, light and
life by well known authors, philosophers, scientists and sacred texts.

Although I’ve been working on
this book for the last year (that is, taking the photos and editing), because
it deals with my love of nature, it has been a lifetime in the making.

Although my career was based in
Hollywood, at heart I’m still the same barefoot farm boy whose first love has
always been - and always will be - the exquisite mystery that surrounds us all.
Some call it nature. Others say it’s the work of God.

Either way, I’ve been enthralled
and mystified by it all my life, and even though as a young boy I never used words
like enthralled and mystified, I certainly felt it. So now, more than a half
century later, even if I sometimes use bigger words and a better camera – or an iPhone – I still feel the same magic when I take a photo. Even after all these years,
magic is the first word that comes to mind when describing photography. Cameras
and smartphones are everywhere and nearly everyone is constantly taking
photos, so it’s easy to forget that photography really is magic. There is just no better way to
describe it.

And to be able to use that magic
to preserve images of the beauty and mystery that surrounds us? Well, it just
does not get any better than that.

As you can imagine, publishing is
an expensive process and that’s why I’m here on Kickstarter hoping to enlist
your support.

To paraphrase Shakespeare, your
generosity is twice blessed. It benefits us both. With your pledge of support,
I’ll be able to publish the book and you will have the satisfaction of knowing
that, as a supporter, you played a critical role in making it possible.

In return for your support, there
are a number of rewards, including a signed copy of the book. There is a
limited edition slip case version as well as signed prints and note cards. A
full list of the rewards is shown on this page.

There are two ways to show your
support. In addition to your pledge, you can also help by spreading the word. Tell family and friends, use social media, share it on Facebook or Twitter,
because the more who know about the book, the more likely this project
will succeed.

Thank you very much for both your
interest and support. I look forward to sharing the book with you - and with
your participation, the chance to share it with others.

Please check back here for progress updates.

Thanks again.

A note on how to use Kickstarter to make a
pledge:

To make a pledge, click the green “Back This
Project” button. You will be asked to enter your pledge amount and select a
reward. Then, you will go through and must complete the Amazon checkout
process. If the project is successfully funded, your card will be charged when
the book reaches its funding deadline. The book is expected to be published
around January 2013 and will ship shortly afterwards.

Risks and challenges

All of the initial risks are taken care of as the project has been self-funded to this point. The book layout and design are complete and ready to go to the printer.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $3,000 or more
About $3,000

You will receive a beautiful signed limited edition slip-cased copy of "BOTANICA - iPhone Photos" and a portfolio of 12 signed x (image size 13x11.7) prints of your favorite images from the book. Shipping included. Bring your own iPhone and spend a morning or afternoon shooting together in Santa Monica or another mutually agreeable location.